Tales, experiences, opinions, observations, insights, and philosophies of a traveler with a passion for traveling light.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

How to wear a bandana

Pack a couple of bandanas for the journey. The bandana square folds into attractive unisex hair accessories - headbands, triangle hair scarves and skull caps. People with little or no hair can enjoy complete headcover and sun protection by wearing their bandana as a skull cap.

Fold your bandana into a headband: The first step is to fold your bandana into a triangle. This diagonal fold will give a maximum length of around 31.5 inches. Fold toward the first fold 2 to 3 more times until the fabric is about 2.75 inches wide. Wrap it around your forehead and tie a square knot to secure it. Photo: John, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Bandana headband tied at the top: Fold your bandana into a headband then tie it at the top of your head so the wider part is lifting your hair off your neck and keeping you cool. Photo: Stephanie, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Accessorize your travel wardrobe with solid color bandanas: The bandana square folds into an inexpensive headband that tames your hair and provides custom fit. Fold the bandana on the diagonal for maximum length. Fold two corners several times into the center of the bandana until the fabric is about 2 to 2.5 inches wide. Use a square knot to secure it. Photo: Julie, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Bandana triangle scarf: Wear a bandana as a unisex hair scarf to protect your hair when traveling. Fold your bandana square into a triangle and tie the long ends at the back of your neck. Christian ties back his long beautiful black Creole hair with a comfortable soft cotton bandana folded into a triangle scarf. Photo: Christian, Austin, Texas, USA.

Bandana skull cap. Fold one corner of the bandana under until its tip is about 5 inches away from the opposite corner. Place this 5-sided shape on your head with the folded edge just above your brow. Tie the horizontal ends around your head making sure the tip of the triangle and any extra fabric is tucked in so the bandana hugs your head like a skull cap. For smaller heads fold the front corner under further until the bandana is folded in half and shaped like a triangle. Photo: Charlie, Auckland, New Zealand.

When tying your bandana the best knot is a square knot... a square knot is secure but is easy to undo. Put left end over right end then right end over left, or you can start with right over left then left over right. It's just like tying your shoe laces only you have to remember to do each tie in reverse.

12 comments:

The bandanas in the first 3 photos are all folded the same way (same as the solid orange one). You can also fold your bandana into a triangle before folding it over several times to achieve the right width for a headband.

I had a look at some of the music magazines at Barnes and Noble. I didn't see Tu-Pac Shakir but I did see some other interesting ways to wear a bandana.

One of the Lords of the Underground was wearing a grey paisley bandana around his forehead. It was folded in a triangle then folded over again about 2 inches (to shorten the tail). The final fold was placed close to his eyes and the tail (peak) sat up and flipped forward like a dog's ear. An original look.

Jim Jones, or it could have been one of his Byrd Gang, wore his beige and green bandana snuggly around his neck like a collar. One tip had been folded over to about 6inches from the opposite tip, so it appeared longer than a regular triangle shape.

Lil Wayne wore a red bandana very loosely around his neck and off to one side. You could see his white T-shirt above the bandana. He used the minimal amount of fabric to tie the knot so the bandana looked as long as possible.

Observations of Jarett's bandana: It seems to be folded into a triangle with the folded edge placed low on the forehead, just above the eyebrows. The ends of the fold line are taken around the circumference of the head, above the ears, and tied at the back. It's hard to tell what's happening at the back but it's possible that the very tip of the triangle, about 1 inch, has been tucked in under the tied ends.

The white bandana looks to me like it is folded into a fairly skinny headband, less than 2 inches. It's wrapped around the head just above the eye brows and tied at the back with a knot. The ends of the ties look rather long so I suspect it is a large bandana (bigger than regular size). The fabric has the soft look of a well-worn bandana (an old one, not a new one).

It's hard to see from the video just what is happening at the back of his head, but it looks like the bandana is folded into a headband and worn across the forehead, like the red one on this blog, and tied in a knot at the back. The ends of the knot are sticking out a bit so it could be a large bandana.

First of all Eminem does not wear a do rag, because if you search up on images Eminem, he is always seen wearing a bandana If you dont believe me check out the music video "Sing For The Moment", by Eminem. It is too hard to explain how to wear a bandana under a cap specificly, but I can tell you that you fold it into a triangle, then face the triangle upright, and tie the long vertices around the back of your head. Now you tuck all the excess fabric into the knot band. Next place your cap over the top. If you want to be gangsta, just wear normal caps, not baseball caps, because thats how Eminem does it. This is just a brief rundown.